It has become, of late, a common practice to make articles of furniture, such as bureaus, dressers, chests, commodes, desks, cupboards, shelf units and the like at least in part from synthetic-resin members which are molded independently of one another and then are assembled. One of the problems with such systems is that the wall elements, including the top wall, are generally relatively thin to save costs because of the expense of the resin. However, while relatively thin members may be effective to provide the desired aesthetic appearance, they frequently do not have a satisfactory mechanical structure. For example, if one applies pressure to such element they tend to bend or deflect and if one taps them they have hollow or weak sounds.
Attempts have been made to improve upon such structures by the use of hollow walls of greater mechanical strength, by the introduction of reinforcements into the walls and the like without being wholly satisfactory.
For example, while a thin light construction may be suitable for the lateral walls of the assembly, it is wholly unsatisfactory for the top since weighty objects may be placed thereon. As a consequence, it has been difficult heretofore to gain as fully as possible the advantages of the molding art with synthetic-resin material while keeping the cost of an article of furniture sufficiently low as to make the assembly desirable, yet affording the appearance, sounds and feel of the robust, massive and stable articles much preferred by potential users.